


45 Years

by spacedaydreamer



Series: safe end!vlr au [1]
Category: Zero Escape (Video Games), Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - Fandom
Genre: Gen, and so it begins, i tagged death; it's only what you can expect from radical-6, safe end!junpei au, safe end!vlr au, the emotions, there may be some minor violence but i tried to keep it from getting too graphic, there's a lot of ups and downs in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 05:58:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10587861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: 45 years. The Earth can change drastically in such a long period of time, but it's people who're the most surprising. They change, they grow, they adapt- even in a world without hope, they persevere regardless.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> technically a continuation from The Inevitability of Fate, although it's not required to understand. Read it here if you like! http://archiveofourown.org/works/10020890/chapters/22336673

**January 1 st, 2029**

_‘I won’t… forget… you……’_

_Junpei’s mind felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, and he couldn’t move his body. He was reaching out for someone- but who? He knew that it was someone **very** important to him, someone that he’d spent a very long time looking for… but he couldn’t make out the face. He tried to lift his head, but his body wouldn’t respond to him. His vision was blurring, and he could see the bodies of two people standing above him, but he couldn’t tell who they were._

_Were they… arguing?_

_He could just barely make out the sounds of their voices, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. His body was heavy, so heavy… not even his eyes would open anymore. He tried one last time, gave one last desperate attempt to remember who it was that he was looking at; before he was pulled into the darkness of sleep_.

“Urgh…”

Junpei awoke with a groan, clutching his head in pain. He couldn’t tell if that had been a dream, or a memory, or something else entirely- his mind was completely blank. The only thing he was aware of was the pain in his chest, and a dull throbbing at the back of his head. It felt like he was forgetting something, something _big_ , but he had no idea what it could be.

“Junpei? Junpei, are you awake? Oh, thank god…”

He turned, and found an unfamiliar blond crouched down beside him. The concern was evident on his face, but Junpei had no idea why.

“Uh… who are you?”

The stranger’s breath seemed to catch in his throat, and there was conflict on his face that lasted only a second before it disappeared, replaced by an easygoing smile. If Junpei hadn’t been paying attention, he would’ve been certain he’d just imagined it entirely.

“Oh, I’m Carlos. We were in the Dcom experiment together- remember?”

“Dcom… Dcom…” Junpei’s brow furrowed, and he sat up and crossed his arms. The names both rung a bell- and then it hit him. “That’s right… I signed up for Dcom, then showed up. The experiment was going along, but then… what happened after that?”

He had no idea why, but everything was hazy. Even the experiment itself he could only half-remember; lost to the fog of his memory that didn’t seem to clear, no matter how much he tried to focus. Carlos was either oblivious to his confusion, or didn’t care; because even after the smile left his face, there was something uncomfortably forced about his tone.

“Oh, don’t you remember? There was an accident- they had to call off the experiment. It started because one of the participants got really sick…”

“Who was it?”

“O-Oh, um…”

Carlos glanced around, as if he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. Junpei sighed and moved on, just wanting to get _something_ out of him.

“Fine, nevermind. But.. what happened after that? where is everyone? Sigma, Mira, Eric… Aoi…”

Carlos’s fists clenched, and he looked down. His voice went soft- so soft, that Junpei almost couldn’t even hear it.

“Mira and Eric are… dead. Sigma lost his arms and an eye… and Aoi…”

It was Junpei’s turn for his breath to catch now, as he felt dread creeping up on him. Two people were dead, one was in the hospital… what the _fuck_ had happened? And more importantly… _where was Aoi?_

“What happened to him? Tell me, _now_.”

“He’s… ah…”

Junpei reached over and grabbed onto Carlos’s shirt, pulling him down to stare directly into his eyes. He ignored how stiff his body felt, and how much his chest was hurting for a reason he didn’t know yet- he _had_ to know.

“Tell. Me. Now.”

“Aoi… left. The two of you… got into an argument. He… he said he never wanted to see you again.”

Carlos couldn’t look Junpei in the eye, but Junpei didn’t notice. He could feel something inside of him beginning to fracture, and it was cutting into him in a way that he hadn’t felt since the end of the nonary game. Weakly, he let go of Carlos’s shirt to put his head in his hands, grabbing fistfuls of his hair.

“A-Are you… is that… true?”

“…yeah…”

“Dammit… _dammit_ …”

He could feel the beginnings of tears forming, and his grip tightened, beginning to pull at his hair. He didn’t even notice the pain- all he could think about was Aoi. He’d known that Aoi would hate him, obviously; but this? Junpei couldn’t even _remember_ the argument! All he knew was that Aoi hated him, without a doubt… before he realized it, he was laughing.

“J-Junpei? Are you alright?”

“What was the point of this? Of everything? People are dead, Aoi hates me… _what’s the point?_ ”

He lifted his head to look at Carlos, eyes blurry and unfocused. Hot tears ran down his face, and he could feel himself slipping away- it would be nice to disappear forever, wouldn’t it? He knew that there would be people who’d get mad at him for it, but he didn’t want this… he couldn’t stand this. He didn’t even know what he’d said, or what he’d done inside of the facility… it would be so much more _pleasant_ if he was just gone. If he could just fade away forever, and forget about everything-

“Junpei, _no._ Please, listen to me. I… that’s what he _said_ , but I don’t think he hates you…”

Junpei gave a short barking laugh, and gave Carlos an empty stare.

“He said he never wants to see me again. That sounds like hatred to me.”

“I think… you just need to give it some time. Give it a few years, then you can find him- I know you’ll see him again. I’m sure you’ll be able to find him.”

“How the fuck would you know that?”

“Th-that’s… uh…”

Carlos looked very uncomfortable, but it wasn’t from Junpei’s stare. He could _tell_ that Carlos was hiding something, probably something important, and the look of guilt on his face seemed to be tearing him in half.

“Whatever, I can see you’re not gonna tell me. Anyways, goodbye- I should be going now.”

“No, _wait!”_

Junpei had gotten up (although it had taken a fair amount of effort), but he felt Carlos grabbing onto his wrist.

“Let go of me.”

“No.” He turned to look at Carlos, and all the prior guilt had changed into determination. Whatever it was that Carlos was hiding, it had to be something big… “Well, the truth is… the participant that got sick… the virus is… _bad_. Deadly. There’s going to be a pandemic…”

Junpei turned the information over in his mind, and felt his blood going cold. Vague memories pushed their way back into his mind- talk about an unnamed virus, mentions about Free the Soul’s plan to end humanity. If the virus was out, then… six billion people were going to die.

“Then… it’s really too late. There’s nothing we can do anymore.”

“No, that’s not right either. There’s a shelter nearby, it’ll be safe-“

“Do you honestly think I could lock myself up in a shelter for who knows how long, while the world _ends?_ ” Carlos flustered over his next words, but Junpei didn’t care. He’d already had enough of being locked up, he wouldn’t willingly trap himself in some underground concrete bunker and just wait for the end. He’d rather take his chances on the surface than live like that. “Look, Carlos, thanks for telling me, but I’m not going. Nice meeting you, but goodbye.”

He tried to pull his arm out of Carlos’s grip, but the other man’s grasp only got tighter. His face was conflicted, and it was clear that he didn’t know what he should do- when he finally spoke again, it was clear that Carlos had surprised even himself.

“I’ll go with you, then.”

“Wh-what?”

“I mean, you’ll need help, won’t you? And I’ve got a place to stay, so things’ll be simpler than if you had to find a place…”

“………fine.”

He didn’t trust Carlos, but it didn’t seem like he was going to be rid of him anytime soon. In that case, it couldn’t hurt to use him to get a safe place to sleep.  Plus, he might be able to get information out of him, eventually- he’d just have to keep trying.

“Alright, good- Junpei?!”

He’d taken a step forwards once Carlos had let go of his wrist, but a sudden spell of dizziness had sent him straight to the ground. His chest hurt like crazy, and it was hard to breathe- had he broken a rib, or something? It sure felt like it… He took a moment to straighten himself out, and forced his breathing to slow again.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look it- you should go and see the medics over there.”

“I’m _fine_.”

He couldn’t go to the hospital. They were already bad enough, but if that illness had gotten out, then hospitals would be where it concentrated first. Junpei _couldn’t_ go to a hospital, never again. He was certain that if he did, it would likely result in the end of his life.

Carlos looked unconvinced, but helped Junpei back to his feet regardless. The both of them then climbed into one of the staff vans, and waited to return to civilization- or perhaps, whatever was going to remain of civilization.


	2. Chapter 2

**February 8 th, 2029**

Life had gone to hell very quickly, Junpei had found. The first thing he’d done since moving in with Carlos was start stockpiling; from food to water to batteries to gas masks, even biohazard suits. He only wore flu masks when out in public, but he knew that _eventually_ they would come in handy.

The first wave of the illness had spread more quickly than anyone could’ve imagined. Within two weeks there had already been recorded deaths, and more people were getting ill than the hospitals could keep up with. The entire state of Nevada had been put under quarantine, but it had done nothing to stop the spread of the virus. Rare cases had started popping up in other countries, and Junpei knew it was only a matter of time before the virus- Radical-6, as it had been named- killed off all of humanity.

Junpei spent a majority of his time alone, either at bars or at the house. Carlos was on call constantly, being a firefighter- and even when he wasn’t, he seemed nervous. It was as if he was always looking over his shoulder, waiting for something horrible to happen.

Well, it wasn’t like that was unwarranted, all things considered.

He pretended not to notice, but there were times where Carlos made it obvious. He would be counting under his breath, keeping track of something that Junpei didn’t know. He made lists, and was constantly going over first aid procedures- and sometimes if he fell asleep on the couch, Junpei would hear him muttering nonsense about an ‘AB game’. The only thing that Junpei was aware of that made sense, was that _something_ was going to happen on April 13 th. The date had been crossed off on the calendar, and Carlos had insisted on marking it into both of their phones. Whatever was going to happen, it was making him paranoid. He’d honestly begun wondering if maybe Carlos was just insane, and the virus had gotten to him; but Junpei had then realized that he didn’t care. After all, it was _hardly_ like _he_ was any better off.

Today was an especially bad day, however. It was his birthday- he was now a whole 23 years old. To ‘celebrate’ he’d gone out to the nearest bar, and gotten as drunk as possible. It was past 11:30 by the time he finally stumbled through the door, finding a worried Carlos pacing back and forth.

“Where were you?”

“Does it matter?”

“You didn’t respond to any texts.”

He turned to look at his phone’s screen- there were three notifications, and a missed call.

“I was drinking, the bars get loud.”

“Well, you manage to pay attention just fine every _other_ time you go drinking.”

“Look, why the fuck do you care? I’m back, and I’m alive, so that’s good enough.”

“We _agreed_ that if either one of us was going to be back later than 10, we’d let each other know. For all I know, you’d gotten sick and killed yourself.”

“Hah, I fucking wish.”

“Junpei, don’t start this with me right now-“

“Well, we _both_ know it’s _true_.”

“Ugh, I don’t- look, what the hell’s gotten into you today?”

“It’s just a bad day.”

“It’s clearly not just that, I’ve seen your bad days.”

Junpei found himself getting angry. Why was Carlos so damn _nosy?!_ Why couldn’t he just let Junpei get blackout drunk in peace? But _no_ , he _had_ to ask so many fucking questions.

“Just leave me alone, Carlos. It’s a bad date.”

“Well, what _is_ today? At least let me know why you’re more insufferable than usual.”

Junpei scoffed, and looked to the side. Running a hand through his hair, he paused a moment- why not tell him? It wasn’t like knowing his birthday would make any difference, and if he was lucky, it’d get Carlos to leave him alone long enough for him to grab a beer from the fridge.

“It’s my birthday.”

“Huh?”

Much as he’d hoped, Carlos had stopped moving and was now confused enough to let Junpei slip past. He went to grab a beer as planned, but felt resistance while attempting to open the fridge door.

“You’re drunk enough. I can smell it on you.”

“Give me a _break_.”

“ _No,_ Junpei. You should sleep.”

“Well, maybe I don’t fucking _want_ to sleep.”

“You’re acting like a child.”

“Shut up. Just, _shut up!_ ” He slammed a fist down on the counter beside the fridge, making Carlos jump slightly at the sudden noise. “ _I don’t fucking care_. I don’t care anymore. So why the _hell_ do _you_ care? Just _leave me alone!_ ”

His voice cracked as he yelled, and he stormed out of the kitchen area and onto the couch. He could tell he was crying, but he didn’t care. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. He just wanted to be left alone, like usual- but Carlos was following him, like the idiot that he was.

“…”

He wasn’t talking, but Junpei knew that Carlos was watching. Why else would he just be standing there? Well, he could stare for as long as he wanted. Wasn’t like it was the first time he’d broken down while drunk, and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

“……”

Now it was irritating. Junpei raised his head, and looked up to see that Carlos was simply sitting on a chair, watching Junpei carefully but saying nothing.

“What the hell do you want? I said to leave me alone.”

“I…”

“Spit it out.”

“I just figured… I didn’t want to leave you entirely alone on what’s left of your birthday.”

“ _Hah!_ ” Junpei didn’t believe that in the slightest. Birthdays were an unimpressive thing for him- his parents had never been particularly close with him, so they’d always been very small. By the time he’d reached his teenage years, he didn’t even celebrate it anymore. There was no real point to it. “What’s the _actual_ reason you’re still here.”

“That _is_ the reason.”

“I don’t buy it.”

“Well, I’m not lying. Look at me.”

Junpei squinted, seeing as he was already looking at Carlos, and found that it really didn’t look like he was lying. However, that left a second question.

“Why the hell do you care, then?”

“Well… birthdays are important, right?”

“Hardly. All it means is that another year’s gone by. Another pointless year, where I accomplished nothing at all.”

“That’s…”

“Most people my age’ve already finished school. They’ve got jobs. Some of them are starting families- but me? I’m here, no more friends or family, and no more job. I’m the _definition_ of a failure. I couldn’t even do _one thing_ right- I just _had_ to pick door 5, and ruin everything. I _had_ to be stubborn.” The tears from before seemed to be getting stronger, and it was getting harder to speak. “I… I just _had_ to let them die. All of them, because of me. Clover, Light… Akane… if it wasn’t for me, they’d be alive. I could’ve _saved_ them, Carlos.”

“Junpei, please…”

“No, you _listen_ to me!” Carlos had walked over, in an attempt to comfort him, but it had resulted in Junpei grabbing onto the front of Carlos’s shirt, and starting to yell. “ _It’s my fault!_ I _know_ that there’s a world where they all lived! I _know_ about that world, I know that they _all_ got to live, that they all got to be _happy_ , that I didn’t _fuck up and ruin **everything**_ \- it’s _All. My. Fault._ ”

His entire body shook with sobs, and his grip on Carlos’s shirt relaxed as he slumped back down onto the couch. He didn’t care at all when Carlos sat down beside him- he just kept sobbing, having pulled his knees up to his chest so he could hide his face.

“Why… why did it happen? Why did I have to make the wrong choices? It would’ve been better if I’d just _died-_ “

“Please, don’t say that.”

Carlos had gently laid one hand on Junpei’s back, but he wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were focused on something very distant, and Junpei was certain that he wouldn’t be able to figure out what it was.

“It’s true, though…”

“I don’t agree. I’m glad I got to meet you, Junpei- if you’d died, then that never would’ve happened.”

“So, one good thing. Hardly makes a difference.”

“Junpei… it doesn’t always _need_ to make a difference. Little things matter too, y’know? Just… be a bit easier on yourself.”

“…I don’t understand you. Why do you care so much?”

“W-well, that’s… I guess, I don’t really have many friends either. We got along well enough before, so I just didn’t want to let you go off alone, y’know? I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if you got hurt while I was just hiding away…”

There was something else- something he was hiding. Junpei had since learnt that there was no point in asking Carlos about the experiment, because it was the fastest way to get him to stop talking. The same happened if he brought up Aoi, or any of the other participants- however, there was a look on his face that told Junpei that something _horrible_ had happened. There was a reason that Carlos didn’t leave Junpei behind, a reason that he couldn’t share… and as much as Junpei wanted to know the truth, he couldn’t be bothered to force it out of him. Let him keep whatever secrets he wanted.

“Do you actually think we’re friends?”

“O-Oh, uh, that’s not what I was trying to say-“

“I don’t care. Think whatever you want.”

“…Huh?”

“Consider it a birthday present.”

“That’s not how those work…”

“Just shut up.”

He heard Carlos chuckle, but didn’t respond. He didn’t really consider them friends himself- Junpei’d never had friends before, and he didn’t expect to make any going forwards- but he figured that this place would be at least a _bit_ more tolerable if they had a somewhat bearable relationship. Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but the idea of having a place to call home that wasn’t always empty and alone was actually kinda inviting. Hell, if it wasn’t for the virus, then maybe it could’ve even been _nice_.

“I’m gonna go to bed now.”

Junpei picked himself up off the couch and started walking towards where he slept (he didn’t call it his room, that felt too personal), and was relieved to find that Carlos wasn’t saying anything, or following after him.

He fell asleep the moment he hit the bed, not even bothering to get changed out of his clothes. Wasn’t like it’d make a difference, anyways.


	3. Chapter 3

**April 13 th, 2029**

Junpei was at home, flipping through the tv. A majority of the channels had long since gone off the air, but it was now just a _habit_ more than anything. Sometimes if you were lucky, you could catch broadcasts from people who’d broken into TV stations and wanted to fuck around, or there’d be the occasional person who’d broadcast old videos- not like there was anyone who cared about copywrite anymore to go after them for it.

He’d been surprised at how easily the end of the world had come. Transportation had completely shut down by the beginning of March, in a desperate attempt to stop people from throwing themselves in front of cars or trains. The hospitals had lasted fairly long, but once the doctors had started getting sick, there was no hope left. What had once been a symbol of hope had quickly become the purest symbol of despair- hospitals were hives of radical-6, and served to spread the infection.

The police had been the first emergency service to go, surprisingly. The ones who didn’t get sick and kill themselves had ended up getting killed by others- be it angry survivors, or those especially far-gone infected who liked to take others with them. The only service that even somewhat ran anymore were the firefighters; but they’d been severely limited once they weren’t allowed to use their trucks. Naturally, some would anyways- but every time, it led to more casualties.

Carlos would come home every day, his face hollow and pale. Each time, there were stories- people he hadn’t been able to save, people who’d thrown themselves in front of his truck, of murders and suicides too gory for him to willingly recall- if Junpei hadn’t gone through what he’d been through, he probably would’ve reacted the same way. The bodies lined the streets and attracted all sorts of wildlife to feed on their rotting corpses; leading to the strays getting fat on rats while humans died from the lack of food distribution. Fires were common, often from people trying to dispose of the infected; only to get caught in the blaze themselves. The sounds of the streets were chaos and confusion, a symphony of despair that Junpei was certain he’d never be able to forget as long as he lived- _if_ he lived.

By the end of March, Carlos would even drink with Junpei, at times. He never enjoyed it, and winced at the burn of alcohol, but it made him relax. Junpei was _certain_ that was for the best; with how wound up he got at every death he couldn’t prevent. He put far too much onto himself, and there was nothing that Junpei could do for him, other than introduce him to the wonders of using alcohol as a coping mechanism. Once they were drunk, they’d talk for hours about the end of the world. They’d complain about everything that was _wrong_ , curse the useless governments that hadn’t done anything but protect themselves; ranting and raving until one of them finally passed out first- usually Carlos.

Today, however, was different.

Junpei came across a channel that was still airing as Carlos entered the room, and sat down to watch. It was the last newscaster that was semi-consistently on the air, a woman whose name Junpei would always forget. Her hair was more disheveled than usual, and she seemed distracted- well, Junpei couldn’t blame her for that.

“Today is April 13th, 2029, and this is the evening news.”

He heard Carlos whisper a horrified “no” under his breath, but Junpei didn’t react. Whatever was going to happen today, there was no changing the fact that the world was already over. There was no hope left.

“Unfortunately, I… I’m sorry. I don’t have any news to read. All of our stations reporters have… have passed, after contracting Radical-6. So have my… excuse me.”

She looked down for a second, and Junpei wondered if he saw a tear, or was just making things up.

“I’ve managed to keep us on the air until now… but I’m out of tricks. It’s time for me to sign off. This concludes our broadcast day. I pray that someday, our world can be cleansed of this horrible plague. Goodbye.”

She raised a gun to her head, and pulled the trigger.

The screen cut to static, but not soon enough. Junpei wondered if she’d contracted the virus too, or had simply gotten too depressed to go on- either was possible. Not all of the suicides were Radical-6 victims, plenty of people just didn’t want to live on in this hell of a world.

Junpei couldn’t blame them.

“Well, that was pleasant, huh?”

He attempted to make light of the situation, but Carlos was still frozen in place, whispering to himself.

“Hey, Carlos? You listening to me?”

He called, but no response. Junpei was worried now- he grabbed onto Carlos’s shoulder, and gave him a shake. This seemed to call him back to reality, heaving out a breath.

“Y-yeah, I’m… alright.”

“What’s going on, man? You look like shit- well, more than usual, at least.”

“…” Carlos took a while to think, before answering. “Junpei… no matter what happens, I’m glad that we got to meet each other.”

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I just- I’m glad we got to know each other. It’s been nice.”

“You’re weirding me out, man.”

“O-oh, yeah… sorry, I guess everything’s just… gotten to me, y’know? Everything’s gonna be fine…”

“Yeah… look, you’re not sick, are you?”

“Wh-what?! No, definitely not, it’s just-“

Carlos’s words were cut off by the sound of an explosion, deafeningly loud. They both ran to the window, and what they saw was horrifying- there was a mushroom cloud rising in the direction of the nearest antimatter reactor. Even if it was very distant from where they were, they could still feel the earth beneath them shaking.

“Is… Carlos, is this it?”

“I don’t know…”

“Hah…” Junpei laughed, something short and soft and broken. “Hey… I’m glad I got to know you, too. You’re not a terrible person to be stuck with in an apocalypse.”

As a last resort and unwilling roommate, Carlos was actually a pretty upstanding guy. It was just a shame that they were probably going to die… funny, how despite everything, it was _now_ that Junpei somewhat realized that he wanted to live.

Well, if he managed to somehow survive this, then he’d keep living. That was about all he could do.


	4. Chapter 4

**December 25 th, 2036**

“What the hell, this _isn’t_ a fair trade! You’re tryin’ to rip us off.”

Junpei crossed his arms and glared, leaning back from the table. The nuclear winter was starting to clear, and that meant plants (and more importantly, _crops_ ) were starting to grow again- but that also meant that the most irritating people to deal with were those who knew tons about farming.

Junpei’d discovered over the years that he was good at salvaging. He’d already known enough about random parts just from time spent on the internet, and he was intuitive and smart- he’d made enough of a niche for himself as a parts trader, among the thirty or so people who still lived near the ruins of the city. Most had left long ago, worried about the gamma radiation- but Junpei was a stubborn man, and there were plenty of other stubborn people who’d had the same feelings as him.

“Carlos, you tell them. Tell them they’re ripping us off.”

“Well, it _is_ a bit of an unfair trade…”

“See? I told you!”

Carlos was standing back behind Junpei, arms crossed and in what looked to be a perpetual sigh. Junpei liked to have him along while trading, because he liked the moral support- plus, two guys were less likely to get savaged by a starving coyote, or something like that. Noisier you were, the more the wildlife stayed away.

“Ugh, fine… how about this, then? But only if you help install this.”

“Deal.”

Junpei grinned with confidence, and extended his hand for a handshake with the ‘farmer’. The part was something for a tractor, that he’d salvaged out of another one that was too damaged to be fixed up. He had no idea if that farmer would be able to actually get the gas to _use_ the tractor, but that was none of his business. He’d gotten some supplies, so his part was done.

The rest of his day was spent working, before he and Carlos finally packed up and went back ‘home’. They’d had to leave what’d once been Carlos’s apartment ages ago, the building was too unstable- instead, they’d moved into an abandoned home near the ex-downtown, a one-floor thing with no basements and no attic, which was just what they wanted.

Between the two of them, they managed to make things work. Carlos was the closest thing there was to a doctor left in the area, so he could make plenty from people who injured themselves. Granted, he never _asked_ for trade- people insisted, bringing food or rarities in exchange for a splint, or other simple procedures. He’d started reading books on medicine a while back, trying to learn as much as he could; while he would never technically be a doctor, he was pretty close.

Things had changed a lot in seven years. People estimated that radical-6 had killed roughly three billion people, but Junpei figured that a decent proportion of those were just normal suicides, or a result of people starving to death from lack of food. At least three billion more had died from the reactor explosions, whether having been killed by the blasts themselves or died during the resultant nuclear winter; Junpei couldn’t tell.

However, humans still hadn’t died out entirely. While they’d lasted, world governments had organized a moon colonization program, creating 54 rhizomes meant to hold the remnants of humanity left. From what he’d heard, the program was a relative success- that is, if you were rich or important enough to get into it. At first there’d only been a handful of people allowed, the politicians and the scientists and the famous, but the rest had found a way. There was only one rhizome that had remained dedicated to the rich and famous, the others quickly became populated by the millions of people leaving Earth.

Junpei _had_ considered leaving, but decided against it.

He had no real desire to go to space, and it didn’t seem like Carlos wanted to leave either. Life on earth wasn’t _easy_ , it was a fight for survival every day- but some people needed them. Perhaps it was the fact that they’d both lost far more than they could bear to acknowledge that kept them here, that kept them fighting day after day- who really knew? In the end, all that mattered to them was that they were still alive, despite everything.

“Well, I’m gonna head out again.”

“Let me guess, gonna go looking for booze?”

“There’s tons of houses _and_ bars in the city, which means there’s gotta be tons that’s still around.”

“Don’t we have a pretty decent stock already? I swear Junpei, you’ve got a nose for finding this stuff.”

“There’s never too much when it comes to scotch.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Carlos sighed in amusement, a wry grin on his face. Despite how he spoke, Junpei didn’t drink that much anymore- wouldn’t do him much good to get drunk while scavenging for parts, and end up in a ditch for Carlos to have to look after him. “Just give me ten minutes, and I’ll come with you.”

“Alright, I’ll be counting…”

“Ha ha.”

Carlos laughed sarcastically then left for the bedroom, leaving Junpei alone. He arrived not too long after, tossing Junpei something in a plastic bag.

“Open it.”

He did as told, and his eyes opened wide- it was a leather jacket, in surprisingly great condition.

“What’s this for?”

“It’s Christmas today, and I found this a week or two ago- figured I’d wait for today to hand it over. Whaddayou think?”

“It’s great!” His old jacket had gotten holes worn through it ages ago, and patches could only do so much. He put the coat on, checking the size- it fit perfectly. “Oh shit- actually, I got something for you, too.”

He’d genuinely forgotten, but started digging through the pockets of his old jacket, looking for a certain thing he’d found last month. It was funny, but it seemed like they’d had the same idea… after a moment he pulled out a little cardboard box, and handed it over to Carlos.

“For you.”

Carlos’s mouth rounded into a small ‘o’ of surprise when he saw what was inside, pulling out a little porcelain firetruck.

“I don’t know if you like trinkets much, and it’s not really that practical, but I just figured you might like it.”

“It’s great! Where’d you find this, though- It’s so small, I would’ve thought all this stuff’d been broken not too long after the explosions…”

“Eh, I’ve just got a good eye for things.”

Carlos smiled and nodded, and went to set the truck down in a safe spot. They’d figure out a good place to put it later- for now, they were going to enjoy a night out. One of the good things about nobody living nearby was that you got the bars all to yourself…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The game says that the people on earth use money, but I have a kinda hard time believing that. So I hope that this barter-system kinda thing makes sense to all of you as well.


	5. Chapter 5

**April 9 th, 2044**

“Hey, Carlos! Check this out!”

Junpei was motioning for the other man to come over, trying to hide the grin on his face. They’d gone out in the morning looking for parts as usual, but it looked like today was going to be one of those days where they found something far more interesting.

“No way… this is great!”

They were staring at a pile of plastic toys, that’d been hidden behind a collapsed wall. There were all sorts and all were in varying condition, but it was still a great find. Their settlement was very slowly growing, having reached maybe sixty people by now. Most people were around Junpei’s age, but there’d started to be some growth in terms of the younger generation- once people had realized that there was still a chance at survival, having children was no longer entirely off the table. It was still fairly rare, and mortality rates were unpleasantly high, but people were trying to move forwards with what they could. As a result, there were currently two kids that Junpei’d see around from time to time, always excited and energetic as kids were supposed to be.

“We should get these back, I’m sure they’d be appreciated.”

“Yeah, exactly what I was thinking.”

They each took an armful of plastic, both a bit surprised at how bright they still were. Junpei supposed it did make a _bit_ of sense- can’t get sun-bleached if there’s no sun, after all. However, the toys were a sight for sore eyes, and one of the more pleasant reminders of the times before the explosions.

“Hey… Junpei? What do you think you’d do if we found a kid?”

“Huh? Well, I’d probably see who’s he was, first.”

“Well, obviously- I meant, if we found an orphan.”

Junpei thought on that for a moment.

“I mean, personally, I’d probably see if someone else could take care of it. Don’t think I’d do that great at looking after a kid, I can hardly look after myself.”

He laughed, but Carlos looked thoughtful.

“I think I’d try to raise one. A kid, I mean.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve always liked kids, and I feel like I’d be doing something important with my life if I helped one out, especially in a time like this.”

“….I guess you’re right, in a way. But I mean, you’re already doing plenty important- everyone relies on you to keep them healthy.”

“Oh, hardly. I just know a bit more when it comes to first aid, so people started coming to me for help.”

“You’re too modest for your own good, y’know that?”

“Ehe… you tell me that every day, Junpei.”

“Well, I mean it every day.”

They joked around like that for the entire walk back, but Junpei found that Carlos’s question was sticking in his head. Would he actually _want_ a kid? He didn’t know. Kids were a big responsibility, and he wasn’t exactly the responsible type. That wasn’t to say he was _against_ the idea, though… with the way Carlos had spoken, it honestly sounded kinda nice. And, if it was the two of them together, Junpei could be sure that he wasn’t ruining the kid with his own disastrous habits- yeah, they’d actually have a decent chance of being somewhat well-adjusted if it was Carlos raising them.

Still, Junpei doubted he’d ever be _comfortable_ as a parent. He didn’t really have much in terms of experience with what they were _supposed_ to be like, and he doubted he’d have much luck in terms of learning. He was awkward at best with kids, and he was too rough around the edges; it would probably be Carlos that did most of the actual _work_ of parenting.

Perhaps if they really did find a kid, he could challenge that- but he highly doubted _that_ would ever happen.


	6. Chapter 6

**September 13 th, 2053**

Junpei leaned back on the run-down couch, listening absentmindedly to Carlos instruct the kid who’d started coming by. He’d realized a few years ago that it’d be pretty bad if this settlement only had one “doctor”- even if he’d never let himself be called that, it’s basically what he was. The result of this was the kid who’d decided to call himself Carlos’s apprentice, a bright guy in his twenties who didn’t remember life before the apocalypse. In some ways, it was surreal- Junpei didn’t really get how that was possible, but there were people on earth who’d only ever known it like this.

Junpei never followed what they were talking about, but it didn’t matter to him. He just enjoyed listening to Carlos talk, rambling on for hours about the things he’d studied in old yellowed textbooks, and probably-outdated methods for CPR and healing injuries. He knew that medical science had continued on the moon, but nobody ever sent that stuff to earth- the people who stayed here just had to make do with what they were given.

“Carlos? Carlos, what’s wrong-“

“I-It’s nothing, let’s continue.”

Carlos was brushing it off, but it was clear that _something_ was wrong. He was breathing heavily, and it looked almost like he was weighed down by something.

“Bullshit. You’re the medical professional here, you should know that something’s not right.”

“Junpei, you’re overreacting. I’m perfectly fine-“

“No you’re _not_. You’re sitting down, _right now_.”

There was a finality to his voice that Carlos knew better than to argue with, and he let Junpei help him over to the couch. The apprentice (whose name was Liam) was flipping through one of the textbooks furiously, scanning quickly.

“Carlos, can you describe the pain for me?”

“I’m telling you, it’s nothing-“

Junpei elbowed him in the stomach and glared, which finally got Carlos to give up and start talking.

“Fine… I guess, it’s a lot of pressure. Feels like my chest’s getting tighter, and everything’s sore…”

“Anything else?”

“Not really… just hurts a lot.”

The kid kept flipping through pages, until he turned and looked at Junpei.

“Do you guys keep aspirin here? Or, anything that’s like a blood thinner?”

“There should still be a couple aspirin, yeah… gimme a sec.”

Junpei went to grab the bottle, but he could feel dread setting in. He wasn’t a doctor, but chest pains and aspirin… was Carlos having a heart attack? He was still young, and in good health- well, actually… he _was_ older than Junpei. But he still wasn’t even in his 60’s yet, so he was too young for a heart attack.

He returned with the bottle, grateful to hear a solitary pill still shaking around. It was expired, like all the medicine that people found was- but it was the best they had. Carlos took it with a wince and a small glass of water, then gave Junpei a smile.

“Hey, stop looking so worried. You’re going to get more wrinkled than you already are.”

“Shut up and rest, you look more horrible than usual.”

“Hah, thanks for the compliment…”

Carlos grinned, but it was clear that even just doing that was taking a great deal of effort. Junpei _hated_ this- why Carlos, why now? How could this be happening to him?

“Liam, is there anything else? _Anything?_ ”

“I-I’m sorry… without any blood thinners, there’s really nothing I could do… I can’t do any of the surgeries that could be performed, we’d need a doctor from one of the rhizomes to pull that off…”

“ _Dammit!_ ”

Junpei slammed his fist against the wall angrily, shaking with quiet rage. He _tried_ to understand why things had turned out like this, but everyone had simply abandoned the people on earth. They were making do, and some people were even close to happy… but if he lost Carlos, then what was left for him? What was left for him, besides resentment for those bastards who’d abandoned everything, and yet another period of unshakable depression?

“Junpei…”

He turned and ran straight back to Carlos, sitting down beside him.

“I said, stop talking. Just rest, you’ll be fine-“

“Listen to me. I… I should’ve told you this a long, long time ago.”

“What are you saying? Just _rest_ , _please_.”

“No, I need to tell you this. Aoi Kurashiki… he’s definitely alive. And you’ll see him again, I promise.”

“Wh-what are you _saying_ , Carlos?!”

“Back in 2028… he said in 45 years, he’d call Sigma and Phi to the moon. If you go, I’m sure you’ll see him again…”

“That’s… no, that doesn’t matter! I don’t _care_ about that right now, just _please_ Carlos, _rest!_ ”

Tears were starting to spill over Junpei’s eyes, and Carlos raised a hand with great effort to wipe one from his cheek.

“I think… I will now…”

“No… no… Carlos, please, don’t die… don’t leave me, _please_ …”

“I’ll still… be with you… Junpei… I promise, I’ll always…”

“Stop it! Stop talking like that! You’re gonna be fine, we’re gonna have plenty more years together-“

“I’m happy… I met you…”

Carlos’s hand fell, and Junpei caught it in desperation.

“Don’t die! Please, please don’t die on me! I don’t want to lose you, I want you to _stay_ with me, _please!_ I don’t care about Aoi, or about the moon, I just _don’t want you to leave me!_ ”

“Thanks… Jun…pei…”

Carlos’s body slumped forwards as the last breath left it, a peaceful smile on his face.

“Junpei, I’m so sorry…”

“Please… just… just leave me for a while. Take his books, and go…”

Liam nodded, and left without saying anything else.

Junpei took the time to lie Carlos down on his back- if it wasn’t for the fact that his chest didn’t move, he would’ve looked like he was sleeping. The tears didn’t stop falling, and he simply sat down beside his corpse.

Why Carlos?

Between the two of them, it was _Carlos_ who’d deserved to live. He’d dedicated his life to helping others, and he’d made this community a semi-decent place to live. There was probably about a hundred of them living here, and Carlos had treated all of them at _least_ once- he’d been a lifesaver, and one of the closest things they’d had to a leader or a founder for their unnamed village.

Meanwhile, Junpei was little more than a garbage collector who still got drunk on weekends, and didn’t know how to talk to half the people living here. He was certain everyone saw him as difficult or annoying- probably the only reasons he hadn’t been chased out were because he was the only person with any talent at fixing machines, and he’d been with Carlos.

In the end, it was a question that he didn’t have any answer for. Whether life was just unfair, or perhaps he’d managed to piss off some specific god and earned a lifetime of misery, he couldn’t tell.

Junpei cried for what felt like hours, but eventually, he had to get up. There weren’t really funerals anymore, it was safer to burn bodies than let them rot and risk incubating infection- but at the very least, he’d make sure Carlos got the respect he deserved.

It was the _least_ he could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to imagine that in the future, the settlement was named after Carlos in some way. He was a very important figure in the community, and while I doubt they'd name it directly after him (because he would've been way too modest to want something like that), I could see something inspired by him.


	7. Chapter 7

**August 2 nd, 2064**

Junpei was wandering alone at night, not caring how the rain soaked through his jacket and chilled him to the bone. Maybe it’d be nice to get pneumonia- wasn’t like he had anything left to live for. Carlos had said that Aoi would be alive, and on the moon… but Junpei never wanted to go there. If it weren’t for the bastards living up there, all safe and happy in their damn rhizomes, then Carlos might’ve had a chance.

He still worked, but he didn’t enjoy it anymore. He still lived in the same run-down house, but he didn’t like it anymore. Everything that’d once made him smile, everything that’d once been a reminder of hope, was now only something to remind him of how hopeless his life was.

He’d gone back to drinking fairly heavily once Carlos died, and nobody really talked much with him unless they had to. He figured that made sense- he was just a useless, depressed old man- probably wouldn’t be long before he died too. The only things that he was good for were finding parts, and finding alcohol.

He went to take a sip from the flask that he kept in his pocket at all times, when he heard something strange. He strained his ears, desperate to hear what it could possibly be- was something _crying?_ A morbid curiosity followed him and he went to inspect, and he found his heart stopping for a moment when he saw what, or rather _who_ , it was.

“A baby? Who the hell…”

He looked around, but he couldn’t see anyone. The baby was wrapped in a thin blanket, covered in dirt and mud- it looked like he’d rolled down the hill.

“Shit, that’s no good…”

He quickly scooped the kid up, climbing up the other side of the bank. He saw exactly what he’d been expecting, and he lowered his head for a moment. A woman with blonde hair and fragile body lay still on the ground, unmoving. She was likely the baby’s mother, judging by her age, or perhaps a grandmother.

Regardless though, she couldn’t do anything for him now.

Junpei muttered a few choice curses under his breath and headed back to the settlement, the baby cradled in his arms. He was small, potentially a premature birth- Junpei had no real idea, but it would make sense. When he got back, he started going around the residential area. He knocked of the door of everyone he knew, but they either couldn’t afford a child, or had one of their own. Junpei wasn’t a father, he could hardly even take care of _himself_ , how could these people honestly think he’d do better than them? Sure, it’d be one thing if Carlos was still here; Carlos had wanted a kid. But Junpei? He was _completely_ unfit to be a parent.

He was eventually given a break when he got to Liam’s door- he was perhaps the only person left in the whole settlement who’d talk to Junpei, and (whether he liked it or not), they’d see each other maybe once a week.

It was Liam’s sister Audrey who actually knew what to do, running to their kitchen to grab some formula (although, he had no idea why she would have any). The commotion also gathered the attention of her wife Sophia, who immediately started fretting over the baby.

“Who’s this?”

“I don’t know. Mother was dead, didn’t see a father. Checked all over town, but nobody’s claiming him.”

“Poor guy…”

“Yeah… do you guys think you could take care of him?”

“We really don’t have the room… sorry, Junpei.”

“No, it’s fine. Pretty much expected that answer.”

She looked pretty guilty, but Junpei didn’t really care. He didn’t _want_ to get stuck with a baby, but he really didn’t have a choice… what could he do, other than look after him? He might’ve been a mess, but he wasn’t a heartless bastard. He couldn’t just leave a baby to die.

Funny how it was _now_ that he found a kid, after all these years…

“Well, what’re you gonna name him?”

“Uh…”

Junpei stared at the baby for a while, deep in thought. What was a good name? His mind wandered back, as he tried to think of something fitting.

* * *

 

**June 17 th, 2031**

“What’ve you got there, Junpei?”

“Oh, it’s a random book I found. Figured it was in decent shape, might’swell use it for new entertainment.”

Carlos was learning over his shoulder, examining the book closely. The script on the front was plain, listing the title of the book as “ _Modern Physics and Quantum Theory_ ”. The author’s name was too damaged to read, and Junpei doubted the book was within either of their actual understanding, but you never knew. Sometimes, they’d find little hidden gems- who’s to say this couldn’t be one?

“Let me read this one, since you had all the fun in finding it.”

“Sure, sure.”

Carlos flipped open to a random page, squinted at it for a while, then laughed and passed it back to Junpei.

“Way too dense for me, I think this is some sort of textbook.”

“Damn, I was worried about that.”

“Well, don’t just give up- there might be _something_ we’ll get.”

Junpei chuckled and nodded, and started flipping. Eventually, he stopped at a section on atoms and elementary particles.

“This looks decently simple… I’ll give it a shot.”

He started reading aloud, all about electrons and protons and neutrons, and about the various models that’d been presented and disproved in the past. Despite being something Junpei hadn’t really studied much in school it was still _interesting_ \- and then, he got further in.

“The smallest elementary particles are the quark and the lepton. In the present standard model, there are six "flavors" of quarks: Up and Down, Charm and Strange, and Top and Bottom. They can successfully account for all known mesons and baryons (over 200). The most familiar baryons are the proton and neutron, which are each constructed from up and down quarks. Quarks are observed to occur only in combinations of two quarks (mesons), three quarks (baryons)…”

Junpei trailed off as it started to get more dense, squinting at the page. Carlos had tilted his head in interest, staring at the page.

“Quarks, huh? I guess they’ve gotta be pretty tiny, if they make up a proton.”

“Yeah, I mean, they’re elementary particles. I’d be more surprised if they _weren’t_ tiny.”

“Fair point.”

* * *

 

“His name is Quark.”

Junpei smiled at the kid in his arms, who was now drinking from the bottle Audrey had prepared.

“Quark?”

“An elementary particle, the smallest bit of matter there is- those, and leptons. Quarks’re what make up protons and electrons.”

“So… you’re naming him that because he’s so small?”

Junpei nodded, and his smile grew distant. All he could think about was that day and that textbook- he wondered if Carlos would like the name. Probably, he’d always been such an agreeable guy…

“Yeah. I figure, quarks are tiny, but they’re what makes everything we see. Something like that might give him a bit of luck- he’ll need it, if he’s gonna pull through.”

“Well, if he’s being raised by _you_ , I’m sure he’ll pick up some of your stubbornness.”

Audrey laughed at her own joke, and the conversation dissolved into the typical pleasantries. Junpei left shortly after, with a bag full of baby supplies and a promise that if he needed help, to just find them.

Upon returning home, his first order of business was to find somewhere for Quark to sleep. He couldn’t put him on a bed, and he didn’t have a crib- he eventually made do with just placing a few blankets into an old plastic tub, and setting the tub in his room in case Quark woke up.

He had no confidence, he was completely sure that _something_ was going to go wrong, and he knew he’d have to figure out more of this ‘baby’ stuff sooner rather than later… but for tonight, this was enough.

“’Night, Quark. Sleep well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The description of quarks and leptons came from hyperphysics, and can be found here: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Particles/quark.html
> 
> As well, about Liam, Audrey, and Sophia- in the game it's mentioned that there's a doctor in the settlement, as well as a teacher. I figured I might as well include them, because it's not like Junpei and Quark live completely alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**July 9 th, 2068**

“Gran’pa! Gran’pa!”

Junpei smiled his usual tired grin as he greeted Quark, who was excitedly walking over to Junpei, only _slightly_ unsteady on his feet. He was almost four (Junpei had decided his 'birthday' was the day they’d met), but he’d been quite weak for some time earlier, due to a bad sickness. However, Junpei wasn’t worried anymore- Quark was a growing boy, and every day he got stronger and brighter. Besides, he’d already proven himself resilient; although that may have been more of a testament to Junpei’s own horrible parenting…

“Yep, Grandpa’s here, Quark. How was your day?”

“Real good! Miss Sophia’s started teaching me numbers.”

Junpei gave him a proud smile, nodding his head enthusiastically. Sophia and Audrey were both about Junpei’s age, so they remembered what things had been like before- Sophia had been finishing teacher’s college when the disaster struck, and had taken it upon herself to teach any kids that grew up in the settlement.

“He’s a really keen learner, Junpei. You’re gonna have to keep an eye out for him, or he might pass you by!”

He laughed, and poked Quark on the nose. The kid gave an indignant _‘hey!’_ , before bursting into laughter, and holding out his arms for Junpei to pick him up. He did so with a grunt of effort, and waved a quick goodbye before starting to take Quark home.

“So, you had a good day?”

“Yeah, it was fun!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“What about you, gran’pa?”

“Same as usual… but I found something special for you. I think you’ll be pretty excited.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, really.”

Quark was bouncing in his arms, and Junpei had to get him to settle down a bit. He let Quark wander the house when he got back, picking a thin box from the table where he’d set down the day’s finds.

“This’s an old one, but… I think it’s a perfect one for you.”

The box was a dvd case- movies that actually played were a rare find, and they were his absolute favourite discovery. He had his personal case of videos, the ones that Quark had labelled ‘Gran’pa Videos’- but he kept a small collection of others as well, mostly all kids films that he figured he could let Quark see. The cover of this particular film was worn out, but you could still see the title if you squinted a bit- _‘Wall-E_ ’.

Perhaps it was a bit ironic of a movie to show a kid who’d never seen the world before, but at the same time, that was exactly _why_ Junpei wanted to show it to him. Yeah, it was Junpei’s generation who’d ruined everything, then headed to the moon after it got fucked up- but it was Quark’s generation who carried their hopes for the future.

As such, he was really glad to see that Quark loved the movie. Junpei’d always had a soft spot for it himself, movies with robots tended to do that to him, but it was good that there was something he could share. He found that it was easier to smile when Quark got excited over simple things- perhaps it was just that childlike innocence? He didn’t know, but he didn’t mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**October 19 th, 2071**

“Grandpa… was I… adopted?”

Junpei blinked, not expecting the question. Quark had come home with tears streaming down his face, and it’d taken Junpei quite some time to get him to calm down. Even now, he continued to sniffle and wipe at his nose, refusing to look up at Junpei.

 “Oh, Quark…” Junpei knelt down, resting a hand on Quark’s shoulder with a sigh. He supposed he’d always figured that Quark’d already _known_ , but that had been foolish. He should’ve told him sooner, instead of letting him find out like this. “Yeah, you were. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

Even though the settlement had grown, up to around 200 people by now, there were still very few kids who actually had both parents. Most were adopted, and living with your biological mother was the biggest rarity of all- he had a feeling he knew who’d brought this on. That boy who lived nearby, who was always bragging to the other kids.

“It’s ok…”

Junpei could tell that there were a lot of things Quark wasn’t telling him, but he didn’t want to force it. He probably needed some time to digest this, and making him talk now might just make him cry again. Junpei didn’t want that, so he did his best to give a reassuring smile.

“Hey, Quark. Isn’t the theater supposed to come back into town, today? Why don’t you grab your stuff, and we’ll see if they’ve got a movie.”

It called itself a theater, but it was actually just an old electric transport truck, that’d had a sheet hung up on the inside as a makeshift screen. Junpei didn’t know where they’d managed to find a working projector, and he was honestly a bit jealous- but it made the kids smile.

Despite how much Junpei loved movies, he didn’t like to go that often. The people who drove the truck were a young couple, too young to remember the world before, and they’d often play old news reels. Those were the days that _nobody_ his age would go. Thinking about the world before would only serve to depress them… and even when they _were_ showing actual movies, he still didn’t see them all. He figured, let the kids enjoy things, without depressing ‘grandpa’ sitting back in the corner.

“Ok… just one moment, Grandpa.”

Quark ran off to grab his hat- Junpei wasn’t sure why, but he loved that thing. He’d originally made it by modifying some old materials, so that Quark would always have space to store things if needed- but he’d ended up using it just for snacks. (Well, Junpei couldn’t blame him for that, because he’d probably have done the same at that age.)

The two of them walked together to the theater, but Junpei could tell Quark wasn’t enjoying himself that much. Hopefully, that wouldn’t last forever…


	10. Chapter 10

**October 31 st, 2071**

“Quark, I’ve got a surprise for you. I want you to come with me, alright?”

Quark blinked, but nodded. Junpei didn’t usually take Quark out places for any special reason, and he almost _never_ had surprises. However, this was something special, and he wanted to keep Quark excited.

It was hard keeping the smile off his face as they walked to the bar, but he did manage it. Quark seemed nervous and fidgety when Junpei sat down at one of the stools, hanging back as if he didn’t know what to do.

“Aren’t you gonna sit down?”

He raised an eyebrow, but realized that the stool was probably too high for Quark- he sighed and picked him up with a grunt, placing him down facing the counter. Then, he nodded to the bartender, and waited for his usual drink.

“Grandpa? Um… why’d you bring me here?”

“Just hold on a second, Quark.”

Junpei took a quick swig of his scotch, using it to hide a grin as the bartender returned with something that’d be unfamiliar to Quark, a tall glass with a bubbling brown liquid, and one scoop of vanilla ice cream in it.

A root beer float.

Quark looked back and forth between him, the bartender, and the drink- he was staring at it like it was simply a mirage. Junpei couldn’t blame him for it; pop was even harder to find than the finest alcohols. Ice cream was marginally better, people could make that easily enough, but nowadays the simplest way to find pop was to go to the moon.

How, then, had Junpei secured Quark a root beer float?

It had been earlier in the week, while searching through an old building. While working, the floor had started to cave in- He’d managed to get out of the way before he was hurt, but he’d never even seen the basement before. It had turned out to be a warehouse filled with all sorts of novel machinery and spare parts, almost _all_ in good condition. It had taken him a while to load up the bed of his truck, but by the time he’d finished he’d earned quite a few favours around town, and even managed to pull in some good food and new clothes for both him and Quark. He’d figured that one thing he could do was get a good treat for Quark, and what better day than October 31st?

“Go on, drink it before the ice cream melts.”

“Is this really mine?”

He nodded, and that seemed to be all the encouragement he needed, as Quark started to drink up. He was grinning wide the whole time, and Junpei found himself smiling too- finally, Quark didn’t seem as down. Junpei was very glad.

“Grandpa?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“Thanks so much!”

Junpei’s grin widened, and he ruffled Quark’s hair. He hoped his message had gotten through- it didn’t matter if Quark was adopted. At the end of the day, Quark was his son, and blood didn’t change anything.


	11. Chapter 11

**February 17 th, 2072**

Junpei frowned when he looked at the stuff Quark had brought back while working, his arms folded. All of it was worthless- he should’ve known better by now. Quark was smart, he always listened when Junpei spoke and his eyes were sharp.

“Quark, this is all junk.”

He started pulling things from the pile, pointing out how this piece was damaged, or that was rusted- he continued, until Quark finally got fed up.

“I don’t _care!_ ”

“Well, you _should_ care. If you keep going like this, you’re never going to be able to support yourself. You need to pay attention to your work.”

“ _Raagh, shut up! I **hate** you, Grandpa!_ ”

He spun around and ran out the door, leaving Junpei in stunned silence. Had he gone too far? He’d only wanted to make sure that Quark could support himself, he’d _never_ intended to make him mad. Was he pushing him too much?

No, what was he waiting _here_ for?! While he stood here like an idiot, Quark could be injured, or worse.

He didn’t even bother to grab a coat, instead running outside to look for him. He’d waited too long- Quark was nowhere to be seen. Junpei knew where he liked to play, but he also knew that Quark was smarter than to go there if he didn’t want to be found. Where could he be, then? There were at least hundreds, if not _thousands_ of abandoned buildings, it would be impossible for him to check them all.

Impossible or not, he’d have to try.

It started raining not long after he started looking, a storm that reminded him a lot of the night he’d first found Quark. The rain soaked him to the skin, and he was shivering from the cold, but it didn’t matter; not until he found Quark.

Junpei continued searching, calling out his name over and over. No matter how long he looked, though, he never got a response. He forced himself not to think of the worst- Quark was a smart boy, he wouldn’t get himself injured. Quark would be perfectly fine, safe and healthy.

He wasn’t a religious man, but if there was ever a time to pray to anyone who’d listen, now was it.

It was past midnight when he tripped, the rain having turned the grass of the roadside ditch into a muddy slide. His head hit something solid at the bottom, and he groaned in pain.

“No… I’ve gotta… find Quark……”

He tried to push himself up, but his arms wouldn’t support his weight. His head hurt like hell, and his body shook from cold- he was likely going to catch a cold from this weather. But, none of that would matter if he couldn’t find Quark…

He wasn’t aware that he’d passed out until he heard a voice shouting for him, concerned and tinged with a hint of fear.

“Grandpa? _Grandpa!_ ”

He opened his eyes to see Quark standing beside him, and Junpei smiled. He was pretty dry, and he didn’t look too bad- Quark was perfectly fine.

“I’m so glad you’re safe…”

“G-grandpa! J-Just hold up, I’ll get Mr. Liam-“

“Alright…”

He nodded and gave Quark a weak smile, and passed out again shortly after he ran off.


	12. Chapter 12

**February 25 th, 2072**

“Nnnngh… my head…”

“Grandpa? Grandpa, are you awake?”

Junpei’s eyes cracked open, and he turned his head to see Quark, seated on a little stool beside him. It took him a while to realize just where he was: the ‘doctor’s office’.

His memory was hazy, but he could remember bits and pieces of the last week. Quark had been by his side the entire time, even slept in the same room… Junpei felt horrible for worrying him so badly.

“I’m alright, Quark. I just needed a good sleep.”

“…”

“Look, Quark… I’m sorry. I know I’ve been tough on you, but it’s because… well, I’m an old man. I don’t know how long I’m going to live, and I’m… I’m not always going to be here for you. I wanted to make sure that you’d be able to take care of yourself when I was gone, but I guess I just forget sometimes that you’re still just a kid. You’ve grown so much, and I’m so proud of you…”

“……”

“I know we’re not biologically related, but you’re still my son, Quark. I’m not the best Grandpa, I could probably use a lot of work… but if you don’t mind having me around still, I’d be happy if we could go back home after this.”

“G-Grandpa… Grandpa!”

Quark latched onto him in a tight hug, sobbing onto Junpei’s shirt. He sat there and let him cry, slowly patting his head and trying to reassure him that he was alright, this time. He was old, but he was tough- he’d lived through worse. He wasn’t going to leave Quark just yet.

After he finally started to calm down, Quark looked up at him with red puffy eyes, looking worried and sad but oh so relieved.

“Grandpa… did you ever regret adopting me?”

“Of course not.”

“R-really?”

Junpei nodded, and he motioned for Quark to sit down beside him. Quark did so, and Junpei started to speak.

“I spent a long time here living with someone else. His name was Carlos, and he was… very important to me. He saved my life once, and prevented me from throwing it away after something very bad happened. If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be somewhere very different right now, fruitlessly searching…”

He sighed, then took a moment to decide what to say.

“He died… 19 years ago. After his death, I was completely lost. I couldn’t bring myself to leave the home that we’d lived together in, but staying made me miserable. I’d drink myself to sleep every night, and I was only kept around here because I was the only one who knew how to fix things… but then, Quark, I found you.”

Quark tilted his head at the mention, and Junpei gave him a soft smile.

“It’s true, I asked everyone else in town if they could take you. I didn’t think I was qualified to be a father- I was a drunk, and basically useless outside of my job. But, nobody had the space. So, I decided I’d take you in. I made myself stop drinking, I read up everything I could on parenting and how to take care of children… little by little, I found that I was actually doing okay at it. Not great, maybe not even _good_ , but ok.”

He chuckled, and ruffled Quark’s hair again.

“Quark, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I never once regretted adopting you, not even for a second.”

It was the truth. Oh, he’d wondered if he should’ve tried harder to get him a competent parent, someone who was actually _good_ at this stuff, but he’d never regretted taking him in.

“Grandpa… do you think we could go home now?”

“Well, so long as Liam says it’s fine, then I’d say so.”


	13. Chapter 13

**January 20 th, 2074**

“Is this some kind of joke?”

“Sir, I’m just a messenger-“

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”

Junpei was scowling at the paper in his hands, having read it over at least a hundred times now. It was short and to the point-

_‘If you wish to see Aoi Kurashiki, go to the nearest shuttle base on January 23 rd, 2074_.’

“I’m not going.”

“Wh-what?”

The messenger looked concerned, and Junpei crossed his arms.

“If Aoi wanted to see me, then he could get off his damn ass and find me. He clearly knows where I am if he sent this.”

“S-sir, please…”

“What is it, Grandpa?”

“It’s nothing, Quark-“

He was too slow, however, and Quark managed to grab the paper from his hands.

“Oh wow, the moon? That sounds so cool! I bet it’s way more interesting than boring old earth…”

“Quark, I’m not going.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because if Aoi wanted to see me, then he _could’ve_ just come down to earth.”

“I guess that’s true… but, um, Grandpa? Who _is_ Aoi?”

“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know about him… He’s… I guess you could call him an old friend? You know how when you were little, I’d tell you stories of me and my friend, Akane?”

“Your first love!”

Junpei scowled just a bit, prompting Quark to laugh, and continued.

“ _Anyways_ , Aoi is Akane’s older brother. We had something of a… falling out, when we were young. I haven’t seen him since 2028… Apparently, he said he never wanted to see me again.”

“Apparently?”

“Well, uh… my memories of the event got kinda messed up, and I don’t remember the actual argument.”

“Well then, you _have_ to go!”

Quark was bouncing on his feet, excited.

“Just think about it, Grandpa! What if something happened, and he needs your help? Or, or- What if you never actually fought? There might’ve been some terribly tragic story, about him sacrificing everything, you’ll never know if you don’t go.”

“I think _you_ watch too many movies. Maybe I shouldn’t let you go to the theater.”

“But then, when will you get to watch your grandpa videos?”

Junpei coughed, and looked to the side. The name had been a bit affectionately cute when Quark was three, but now that he was ten, it made Junpei look like a bit of a pervert. He swore on his life that all but a couple of them were perfectly normal movies- they were just far too rare for him to leave out and about, like the special-edition blu-ray of Back to the Future.

“I’ve got plenty of time to watch movies if I wanted. Now, regardless, I don’t have any desire to go to the moon.”

“Are you _sure_ about that, Grandpa? I can see it on your face, I think you wanna see him.”

“I think you’re just imagining things.”

“Well, just ask yourself. ‘Am I really going to be happy just leaving things here?’”

Quark lowered his voice in an attempt to sound like Junpei, making a grumpy face and crossing his arms while talking.

“That’s…” Junpei sighed in defeat- somehow, Quark had bested him. He really was a smart kid… “Alright, fine.”

Junpei turned to face the messenger, who’d been waiting the entire time with a rather awkward look on his face. He coughed a couple times to get the others attention, then sighed.

“I’ll go, but only if Quark comes with me. I’m not leaving him behind.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“That’s awesome!”

Quark looked quite excited, and the messenger nodded. It looked like that wasn’t going to be a problem, so they’d be headed for the moon…

For Aoi.


	14. Chapter 14

**January 23 rd, 2074**

Junpei’d been woken up by Quark early in the morning, who was incredibly excited about their trip. He’d rambled non-stop to everyone else in the settlement for hours, only eventually stopped when Junpei cut in to explain it was only going to be a short personal visit, and then he’d be back quickly.

The most obviously concerned person in the settlement was Liam, who’d spoken to Junpei shortly after hearing Quark’s ramblings. He could still remember Carlos’s dying words, having been there with them, and they worried him.

“Do you really think it’s safe to bring Quark along?”

“I wouldn’t be able to sit still for a second if I left him behind, I’d just be worrying about him.”

“Alright, but… do you really think Carlos was right? That you’ll find Aoi there?”

“Yeah, I do… Aoi, Sigma, and Phi. And maybe then, I can get some _answers_.”

Liam had been unable to convince Junpei to change his mind, and neither Audrey nor Sophia had even tried. Junpei was a stubborn man; when he’d made his mind up, nothing short of a pure force of nature could change it.

He and Quark arrived at the landing pad within a couple hours, surprised to find the shuttle already there. It was one of the newest models from the moon, a fancy self-flying thing that Junpei didn’t want to spend any more time inside of than he needed to. Perhaps it was just because he was old, but he didn’t trust anything that he couldn’t take apart and look inside of- earth’s technology, while dated, was much better if you asked him. He’d take a VHS player over the weird projection things and screens he’d heard about on the moon any day.

However, his stubborn opinion didn’t really matter now, did it? He was in the damn shuttle, he’d see Aoi, and then he’d come right back home with Quark. It was simple and straightforward, nothing complicated about it at all.

Or at least, that was how things were _supposed_ to go.

It was about halfway through the trip that Junpei noticed something eerily familiar- a soft low hiss, like gas escaping from a canister. His body felt heavy, and he looked over to Quark in a panic- he’d already passed out from the white smoke filling the cabin.

Soporil…

Junpei scowled the best he could as his vision started to fade, looking one last time at Quark. Whatever was going to happen, if there was soporil, it couldn’t be good… he’d just have to pray that Quark would stay safe, and that his stubborn insistence wouldn’t end up killing him.

“Dammit, Aoi… why?”

But obviously, he got no answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go- the long anticipated (by me at least) lead-in to Virtue's Last Reward, safe end edition!
> 
> I have to say, this fic was a blast to write. 45 years is a really long time, and there's so many stories that can happen in that time; I'm certain there's countless tales that I would just never have the time to write about with Junpei, Carlos, and later Quark. I could never see Carlos just leaving Junpei behind post-c1 ending, but I also can't imagine Quark not mentioning having a second grandpa; thus to me the logical conclusion was that he passed on at some point, unfortunately.
> 
> There's some headcanon things I didn't touch on much in this fic that I feel I'd like to share, mostly about the sort of dichotomy that exists between earth and the moon. The people who live in the Rhizomes experience a life that's far closer to what we currently know, in terms of economy and technology. Research continues to develop on the moon, and the people who live there are typically considered fairly affluent when compared to those on earth. In contrast, people on earth have an economy that relies almost entirely on trade and services, without money. Communities are typically quite tightly-linked social groups, and those who don't have enough or can't provide for themselves are still often given aid.
> 
> Most things on earth are powered entirely through wind or hydro- there's no solar power because of the dust, there's an unspoken agreement against any form of nuclear or antimatter power, and nobody's bothered to start getting coal or oil again. Considering the world ended in 2028 i feel like it's totally possible that there'd be plenty of hybrid or electric cars back then, so there's still a handful around that work if you fix them up properly.
> 
> But anyways, on topic now. Thank you so much for reading, and I'm glad that so many people have been enjoying these fanfictions! More will be coming, however these ones will probably be slow going- VLR has a very different structure from ZTD that's gonna make it harder to figure out how to group these fics, It might take me some time to determine the ideal order. I've got plenty of ideas already though, so please look forwards to them!


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